Miami Beach Spring Break problems -- Curfew & Causeways closed

[TikiTikiFan]

The university I work at changed spring break until the end of the semester and we will go entirely remote after that to prevent spread from college students traveling and coming back to campus.

I live in Colorado and we get pretty consistent tourist traffic where I live and boy, were all the out of towners surprised by the giant blizzard we got this weekend. Lots of stranded folks from Texas/Kansas in the mountains who weren't used to snow driving... muchless a giant blizzard... in the mountains.

So I'd say our spring break visitor influx got squashed before it got too crazy around here lol!

 

[monsterkitty]

The university I work at changed spring break until the end of the semester and we will go entirely remote after that to prevent spread from college students traveling and coming back to campus.

I live in Colorado and we get pretty consistent tourist traffic where I live and boy, were all the out of towners surprised by the giant blizzard we got this weekend. Lots of stranded folks from Texas/Kansas in the mountains who weren't used to snow driving... muchless a giant blizzard... in the mountains.

So I'd say our spring break visitor influx got squashed before it got too crazy around here lol!

We just need the CU kids to behave next warm day we have.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

We just need the CU kids to behave next warm day we have.

No kidding!!!

 

[mikehn]

Im coming into Miami Apr 7 then renting a car to drive up to Delray for a few days. I'll do my best to stay off the evening news.

 

[JimMIA]

Im coming into Miami Apr 7 then renting a car to drive up to Delray for a few days. I'll do my best to stay off the evening news.

Great! Hopefully you'll be in time to enjoy the Man-O-War!

 

[JimMIA]

Well, Spring Break is getting to be even more fun in South Beach, and South Florida generally:

• At Ft. Lauderdale airport, two passengers boarded a plane masked, then removed their masks and refused to put them back on. The crew tried to convince them, but were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed more than an hour, and when the offenders were removed from the plane a fight broke out between them and people who had been standing in line for an hour waiting for them to grow up. So instead of being at home, they are now in jail.
• At Miami airport, the same thing happened, again with two spring break visitors. When officers invited them to leave the plane, one showed an officer a knife in her purse and said she would cut him if he tried to remove her from the plane. (If you are ever in this situation, please do not threaten the nice officer with a knife!)
  • He placed her under arrest for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Her girlfriend intervened, so they are now both in Dade County jail. Their bond hearing is hilarious, but the woman with the knife is facing some serious jail time.
• In fairness to college students everywhere, none of the four people above appear to be college students. That's one of the biggest problems we have here -- people coming to join the party who are not college material.

And finally, on South Beach last night, another major street brawl broke out and police once again had to deploy pepper balls to disperse the mob. Several arrests were made:

https://www.local10.com/news/local/...beach-officers-to-fire-pepper-balls-at-crowd/

https://wsvn.com/news/local/witness...reak-up-fight-outside-miami-beach-restaurant/

This weekend, there will be additional officers and the corrections department will be doing onsite booking and will have buses available for expedited transportation to jail.

Should be a fun weekend!

 

[monsterkitty]

Well, Spring Break is getting to be even more fun in South Beach, and South Florida generally:

• At Ft. Lauderdale airport, two passengers boarded a plane masked, then removed their masks and refused to put them back on. The crew tried to convince them, but were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed more than an hour, and when the offenders were removed from the plane a fight broke out between them and people who had been standing in line for an hour waiting for them to grow up. So instead of being at home, they are now in jail.
• At Miami airport, the same thing happened, again with two spring break visitors. When officers invited them to leave the plane, one showed an officer a knife in her purse and said she would cut him if he tried to remove her from the plane. (If you are ever in this situation, please do not threaten the nice officer with a knife!)
  • He placed her under arrest for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Her girlfriend intervened, so they are now both in Dade County jail. Their bond hearing is hilarious, but the woman with the knife is facing some serious jail time.
• In fairness to college students everywhere, none of the four people above appear to be college students. That's one of the biggest problems we have here -- people coming to join the party who are not college material.

And finally, on South Beach last night, another major street brawl broke out and police once again had to deploy pepper balls to disperse the mob. Several arrests were made:

https://www.local10.com/news/local/...beach-officers-to-fire-pepper-balls-at-crowd/

https://wsvn.com/news/local/witness...reak-up-fight-outside-miami-beach-restaurant/

This weekend, there will be additional officers and the corrections department will be doing onsite booking and will have buses available for expedited transportation to jail.

Should be a fun weekend!

How in the HE*! get a knife past security?!

 

[JimMIA]

How in the HE*! get a knife past security?!

 

[mikehn]

We pick on college kids, but the 50s and 60s crowd partys like there's no tomorrow. Spend a Saturday night at Lauderdale by the sea, and you'll see 60 year olds get sloppy.

 

[JimMIA]

We pick on college kids, but the 50s and 60s crowd partys like there's no tomorrow. Spend a Saturday night at Lauderdale by the sea, and you'll see 60 year olds get sloppy.

Yeah, we saw some at 15th Street Fishery a couple of weeks ago.

But the South Beach crowd this time of year is totally different from what you see in Ft. Lauderdale. No comparison at all.

 

[JimMIA]

WOW! The Clevelander is closing food & beverage operations!

For those who don't know, The Clevelander Hotel pool area is THE quintessential South Beach party place. It is THE hotspot of South Beach.

But today, they announced they are closing all food & beverage operations for at least one week because of concerns for the safety of their staff and customers. Their employees will receive full salary and benefits during the closure.

Here's their statement:

Dear Friends,

For decades, the Clevelander South Beach has been one of the most famous and prominent businesses on Ocean Drive. One reason for our prominence and long-standing reputation has been our focus on the safety and well-being our staff and patrons. Recently, we have grown increasingly concerned with the safety of our dedicated employees and valued customers and the ability of the City to maintain a safe environment in the surrounding area. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close the food and beverage operations at Clevelander South Beach until at least March 24, 2021. We will re-evaluate the situation over the coming days and decide whether to re-open or remain temporarily closed. The Clevelander employees have our full support and shall be paid their full salary during this period.

Sincerely,
The Clevelander Management Team


They basically said they don't have confidence in the police to provide a safe business environment because of all the craziness and violence. Both the street brawl last night and the fatal shooting on the weekend occurred within 3 blocks of The Clevelander.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/clevela...d-beverage-operations-due-to-safety-concerns/

 

[HeatherC]

WOW! The Clevelander is closing food & beverage operations!

For those who don't know, The Clevelander Hotel pool area is THE quintessential South Beach party place. It is THE hotspot of South Beach.

But today, they announced they are closing all food & beverage operations for at least one week because of concerns for the safety of their staff and customers. Their employees will receive full salary and benefits during the closure.

Here's their statement:

Dear Friends,

For decades, the Clevelander South Beach has been one of the most famous and prominent businesses on Ocean Drive. One reason for our prominence and long-standing reputation has been our focus on the safety and well-being our staff and patrons. Recently, we have grown increasingly concerned with the safety of our dedicated employees and valued customers and the ability of the City to maintain a safe environment in the surrounding area. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close the food and beverage operations at Clevelander South Beach until at least March 24, 2021. We will re-evaluate the situation over the coming days and decide whether to re-open or remain temporarily closed. The Clevelander employees have our full support and shall be paid their full salary during this period.

Sincerely,
The Clevelander Management Team


They basically said they don't have confidence in the police to provide a safe business environment because of all the craziness and violence. Both the street brawl last night and the fatal shooting on the weekend occurred within 3 blocks of The Clevelander.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/clevela...d-beverage-operations-due-to-safety-concerns/

Good for them for taking a stand and actually taking action on this.

 

[JimMIA]

Good for them for taking a stand and actually taking action on this.

Yeah, I agree. It's not only the right thing to do for their employees, but it's a terrible public relations event for the City of Miami Beach.

It's incredibly embarrassing for the Beach to have their premier iconic venue on South Beach say the area is not safe enough for them to operate. That's actually almost unimaginable!

In fairness, the police have been out in force and have been aggressively stepping in to stop violent outbursts. But it's a complex problem and there is only so much the police can do. Basically, for the police to get involved the situation has to have already deteriorated to a level that never should have been possible in the first place.

We have many other occasions where there are huge crowds of young people having fun. Both Ultra and New Years Eve are MUCH larger than spring break -- with tons of young people partying and having fun...but no violence.

I think the only way to actually stop this violence right now is to simply shut South Beach down. Close the causeways, close the businesses, impose a curfew and just tell folks to go home.

 

[DisneyTarheel]

removed since I was veering a bit too close to politics

 

[penn19]

Yeah, I agree. It's not only the right thing to do for their employees, but it's a terrible public relations event for the City of Miami Beach.

It's incredibly embarrassing for the Beach to have their premier iconic venue on South Beach say the area is not safe enough for them to operate. That's actually almost unimaginable!

In fairness, the police have been out in force and have been aggressively stepping in to stop violent outbursts. But it's a complex problem and there is only so much the police can do. Basically, for the police to get involved the situation has to have already deteriorated to a level that never should have been possible in the first place.

We have many other occasions where there are huge crowds of young people having fun. Both Ultra and New Years Eve are MUCH larger than spring break -- with tons of young people partying and having fun...but no violence.

I think the only way to actually stop this violence right now is to simply shut South Beach down. Close the causeways, close the businesses, impose a curfew and just tell folks to go home.

I used to live in Ft Lauderdale a long time ago. Spring break was huge. And out of control. Couples having sex on peoples lawns, urinating in public. Crazy times. The residents and government got so fed up with it they put the kibosh on it. I can’t remember exactly they did it. But they made it inhospitable to the college kids and they moved on. Maybe Miami needs to try this.

 

[ohiomom28]

Whoa! Exactly what type of crime is going on in MB and where is it happening? We used to go there every year when I was a kid (60’s and 70’s) but I have also been there many, many times as an adult. The last time was a few years ago. I will say that I thought MB was looking a little “tired” and rundown, but I certainly didn’t feel uncomfortable there. I’m not one to hang out in the Pavilion area (if it’s still called that LOL!).

My 91 year old mother and I were thinking of going there for a week, but now I’m wondering if we should. We normally stay in the northern part of Ocean Drive Around the 7200 block area. The most we do is hit the outlets, Broadway at the Beach, and Barefoot Landing.

is the crime as bad in NMB? Maybe we’d we better staying there?

TIA!

You'll be fine in that area. Stay away from the boardwalk area mostly. There are some sketchy areas 2nd row in Southern MB areas too

 

[Pink Partridge]

• At Miami airport, the same thing happened, again with two spring break visitors. When officers invited them to leave the plane, one showed an officer a knife in her purse and said she would cut him if he tried to remove her from the plane. (If you are ever in this situation, please do not threaten the nice officer with a knife!)
  • He placed her under arrest for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Her girlfriend intervened, so they are now both in Dade County jail. Their bond hearing is hilarious, but the woman with the knife is facing some serious jail time.
• In fairness to college students everywhere, none of the four people above appear to be college students. That's one of the biggest problems we have here -- people coming to join the party who are not college material.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/broward...erminal-after-travelers-refuse-to-wear-masks/
Part of the bond hearing is at the end of the video in the link above.

 

[JimMIA]

I used to live in Ft Lauderdale a long time ago. Spring break was huge. And out of control. Couples having sex on peoples lawns, urinating in public. Crazy times. The residents and government got so fed up with it they put the kibosh on it. I can’t remember exactly they did it. But they made it inhospitable to the college kids and they moved on. Maybe Miami needs to try this.

The difference is bad behavior years ago vs. violence now...in Miami Beach, not Ft Lauderdale. Before, people got drunk and stupid. Now, some of them come looking for trouble.

Ft. Lauderdale, BTW, still has large crowds of young people, mostly college kids, and almost no violence.

As I pointed out above, Miami Beach has at least two annual events (Ultra and NYE) with mostly young people which are both several times the size of our spring break crowds -- but no violence. We have two other weekends (multiple events) which are much larger than spring break, but older crowds -- no violence. We have another somewhat smaller weekend on Memorial Day -- much smaller crowds, young people, always violence.

The problem is not college kids, it's not young people generally, and it's not partying. We have all those things 45+ weeks a year with no violence.

 

[penn19]

The difference is bad behavior years ago vs. violence now...in Miami Beach, not Ft Lauderdale. Before, people got drunk and stupid. Now, some of them come looking for trouble.

Ft. Lauderdale, BTW, still has large crowds of young people, mostly college kids, and almost no violence.

As I pointed out above, Miami Beach has at least two annual events (Ultra and NYE) with mostly young people which are both several times the size of our spring break crowds -- but no violence. We have two other weekends (multiple events) which are much larger than spring break, but older crowds -- no violence. We have another somewhat smaller weekend on Memorial Day -- much smaller crowds, young people, always violence.

The problem is not college kids, it's not young people generally, and it's not partying. We have all those things 45+ weeks a year with no violence.

No, I understand that but I guess I was just thinking they need to make it so the people looking for trouble don’t go there. But I guess that’s just passing them onto some other city. People who want violence are going to do something, somewhere. It’s very unfortunate.

 

[JimMIA]

No, I understand that but I guess I was just thinking they need to make it so the people looking for trouble don’t go there. But I guess that’s just passing them onto some other city. People who want violence are going to do something, somewhere. It’s very unfortunate.

We're more than happy to share them with other cities, LOL!

There are some technical things they could do, but honestly I don't know that they aren't doing them.

One is to employ tag readers on the causeways leading to Miami Beach. A tag reader records the tag and does a records search for both the vehicle and the owner of the vehicle. That would pick up stolen cars and wanted owners. Tag readers are pretty hit-or-miss, and they really jam traffic up because you have to reduce 3-4 lanes to one. But they are actually more successful than you'd think. And, if you arrest a few people for outstanding warrants, you'd be surprised how fast the word spreads in those circles!

In the past, when Miami Beach has used tag readers, they've used them at the ends of the causeways which is the worst possible place to use them. When they ID somebody, that person could have gone anywhere once they got off the causeway. They need to deploy them at the start of the causeway, and then whoever they find has nowhere to go for 3-4 miles in very slow traffic.